Czech Republic in 2004

Czech Republic in 2004

Area: 78,866 sq km (30,450 sq mi)
Population (2004 est.): 10,212,000
Capital: Prague
Chief of state: President Vaclav Klaus
Head of government: Prime Ministers Vladimir Spidla and, from July 26, Stanislav Gross

The year 2004 was marked by political upheaval and an economic upturn as the Czech Republic finally “rejoined Europe.” Like its counterparts in Poland and Hungary, the left-leaning Czech government collapsed after the country’s accession to the European Union on May 1, with Vladimir Spidla resigning as prime minister in July and handing over the reigns to the youthful Stanislav Gross. After weeks of uncertainty and tension, Gross’s new cabinet narrowly won a parliamentary vote of confidence on August 24. Nonetheless, the new government consisted of all the same parties and most of the same ministers as the previous cabinet. Moreover, it faced all of the same problems, particularly those relating to public finance reform. The political situation was complicated further by the ruling coalition’s razor-thin majority of just 101 seats in the 200-member lower house of the parliament.

The collapse of Spidla’s cabinet was triggered by the humiliating defeat of the Social Democrats (CSSD) in the elections to the European Parliament (EP) that were held in the Czech Republic on June 11–12. Prior to the elections, the CSSD’s popularity had been falling sharply. While some attributed that decline to the difficult impact of the first round of public finance reforms that had been approved in late 2003, others blamed it on Spidla’s lacklustre leadership. In the end the three ruling parties combined won just 4 of 24 seats in the EP. While the Christian Democrats (KDU-CSL) finished in fourth place, with 9.5% of the vote, the CSSD placed fifth, winning just 8.8%, with each of the two parties gaining two seats. As expected, support for the third coalition partner, the Freedom Union (US-DEU), came in far below the 5% threshold needed to enter the parliament. In contrast, the Euroskeptic opposition Civic Democrats (ODS) and the Communists won a combined 50.3% of the vote and 15 seats, while independents picked up the remaining five mandates. Voter turnout reached just 28.3%.

Personnel changes in the Gross government did not go as far as expected. Of the 18 posts, only 6 were filled with individuals who had not served in the previous cabinet. There was some reshuffling among the various positions, and the cabinet added one member. The CSSD now held 12 of the 18 cabinet posts, up from the previous 11, with 3 of those going to nonparty members. While the KDU-CSL made no changes to its lineup, the US-DEU swapped some posts with the CSSD. The cabinet’s policy statement was widely criticized as vague and lacking in new ideas.

Despite the lack of real change, public support for the CSSD and the government in general initially rose somewhat after the cabinet shake-up. That improvement could be attributed to the leadership of Gross, who had long been one of the most popular politicians in the country. According to polls by the STEM agency, Spidla’s popularity had fallen from 77% in September 2002 to just 27% in July, while support for Gross dropped much less dramatically, from 85% to 56% in the two respective periods. Meanwhile, the ODS’s image was damaged somewhat by allegations that the party had tried to bribe a US-DEU deputy in an effort to persuade him to help bring down the new government.

Nonetheless, Gross did not have much time to renew the CSSD’s support, given the upcoming elections to the Senate and the regional administration, both of which took place on November 5–6. With a voter turnout at an all-time low, the ODS managed to pull off an overwhelming victory in both elections, gaining majorities in 12 of the 13 regions and winning 18 of the 27 Senate seats that were up for grabs. Embarrassingly, the CSSD failed to gain a single seat in the Senate.

The economy fared better than expected in 2004, although rising inflation cut back on real wage growth and led to more caution on the part of Czech consumers. Given the country’s large public finance deficit, the Czech Republic was not expected to join the euro zone before 2010, well after most of the other new EU accession countries. Even that date would be a challenge for the government. Although the Finance Ministry was expected to come up with another round of fiscal reforms, the government’s ability to push through legislation was challenged by the strong right-wing slant of the Senate, regional assemblies, and presidency.

Sharon Fisher